Data released by the National Energy Administration on July 28 shows a significant expansion of China's electric vehicle charging infrastructure. According to statistics from the National Charging Facility Monitoring Service Platform, the total number of electric vehicle charging points (guns) in China reached 23.057 million by the end of June 2026, a year-on-year increase of 43.2%.
This total includes 5.009 million public charging points, up 22.3% year-on-year, with a total rated power of 247 million kilowatts and an average power per gun of approximately 49.35 kilowatts. Private charging points totaled 18.048 million, a 50.4% increase, with a reported installed capacity of 155 million kVA.
A senior official from the National Energy Administration further noted significant progress in the construction of high-power charging facilities during the first half of this year. By the end of June 2026, the country had built over 180,000 high-power charging guns, with a rationally planned, technologically advanced high-power charging infrastructure system being rapidly developed. The accelerated deployment of these high-power facilities not only shortens EV charging waiting times but also removes a key obstacle to the sustained growth of new energy vehicle consumption.
Combined with the latest data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, China produced 7.438 million and sold 7.446 million new energy vehicles in the first half of this year, increases of 6.7% and 7.3% year-on-year respectively, both surpassing the 7-million-unit mark. Furthermore, the sales share of pure electric vehicles rose to approximately 67%.
In the view of Xiao Hongwei, director and researcher of the Policy Simulation Laboratory at the Economic Forecasting Department of the National Information Center under the National Development and Reform Commission, the increasingly complete EV charging network not only effectively alleviates consumers' range anxiety, but the virtuous cycle formed between charging infrastructure and new energy vehicle consumption has become a key lever for upgrading automotive consumption.
From an investment perspective, charging facility construction involves multiple stages including equipment manufacturing, civil engineering and installation, grid upgrades, and operation and maintenance, creating a long industrial chain with strong radiating effects. In the first half of this year, China added nearly 3 million new EV charging points. The accelerated deployment of high-power charging facilities, coupled with the continued densification of county and township charging networks, directly stimulated upstream and downstream industrial demand while building momentum for medium- to long-term economic growth.
"EV charging infrastructure construction not only drives upfront investment but also fosters the expansion of downstream service scenarios such as operation services, parking services, and commercial support, further activating consumption demand in areas like cultural tourism and commerce," said Sun Chuanwang, a professor at the China Energy Economics Research Center of Xiamen University.
The improvement of the EV charging network is also reflected in the strengthened layout of county and township charging grids. National Energy Administration data shows that by the end of June 2026, the coverage rate of county-level charging facilities had risen to 98.61%, accelerating the densification of the county and township charging network and steadily enhancing charging service capabilities in rural areas.
Notably, at the end of June, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Ministry of Commerce, together with the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, and the National Energy Administration, simultaneously launched the 2026 new energy vehicle "going to the countryside" campaign in Tacheng, Xinjiang, and Chengmai, Hainan. Special support for rural consumers replacing their vehicles with new energy ones includes the provision of trade-in subsidies without restrictions on the number of eligible recipients.
"Since the launch of the new energy vehicle 'going to the countryside' campaign in 2020, cumulative sales of related models have exceeded 23 million units, and the county and township market has become an important growth pole for boosting automotive consumption. However, for more consumers in these areas to move from 'wanting to buy' to 'daring to buy,' charging convenience is an unavoidable prerequisite," Xiao Hongwei stated. "Now, with the county charging facility coverage rate reaching 98.61%, the bottleneck of connecting 'buying a car' with 'charging it' has been largely resolved. When 'affordability' and 'practicality' form a closed loop, the decision-making threshold for county consumers will be significantly lowered."
Sun Chuanwang believes that the coordinated development of new energy vehicles and charging infrastructure, reaching into these areas, will, on one hand, help unlock the consumption potential of durable goods in counties and townships, further activating the county-level consumer market and investment demand. On the other hand, it will promote rural revitalization and new urbanization, reduce carbon emissions in the transportation sector of rural areas, and contribute to the "dual carbon" goals and the transformation of the energy structure.